The Brown County Museum of History invites the public to visit the partial bones exhibit during the Texas Historical Commission’s Day of Archaeology on Saturday, October 17th from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Mastodons may have lived in Brown County, according to Dr. T.R. Havins, former science professor Howard Payne University. An excerpt from The Live and Lives of Brown County People– Book #19 by Brown County Historical Society and another excerpt from the Howard Payne University Yellow Jacket (Brownwood, Tx,) Vol. 88, No. 7 Ed.1 stated the following:
Dr. Havins identified the bones and was thrilled to be part of such an important find in December 1951. “Geologists believe this type of animal lived in this region some thirty or thirty-five thousand years ago. At that time this area was probably a swampy area near Pecan Bayou. The tendency that dying elephants would seek a water source indicated that the area had an attraction for the Mastodons” Dr Havins stated.
It was determined judging by the Mastodon’s bones, it must have been twelve or fourteen feet tall. A Mastodon, a mammoth, was a giant, hairy elephant-like creature.
Local folklore holds that on two different occasions, dinosaur-type bones were found during the construction of the Walker Library and the Winebrenner science building. Supposedly, while the foundation of Winebrenner was being built, another group of large Mastodon bones were found, only to be crushed in the night by vandals.
The bones could not be those of a dinosaur, Professor Winebrenner stated at the time, since the geological formation of which they were imbedded is geological ages removed from those in which dinosaurs lived. The dinosaurs predated the age in which mammoth roamed the Texas landscape.
The public is encouraged to visit the partial bones at the Kids Zone area of the Educational Center of the Brown County Museum of History during the Texas Historical Commission’s Archaeology Day- October 17, 2015. The museum is located at 209 N. Broadway which is across the street from The Brownwood Museum, often called the “Old Jail.”
During the event, there will be crafts to do and refreshments. Museum hours are Thursday and Friday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. For more information call (325) 641-1926.
